Consultancy for External Audit of four projects in Ivory Coast – Consultance pour un Audit Externe de 4 projets en Cote d’Ivoire

Note importante – Les offres soumises en francais sont les bienvenues.

Les termes de référence sont uniquement disponibles en anglais mais les offres en français seront également reçues et évaluées. N’hésitez pas à candidater.

Projects:

• Covid 3
• COVID-19 MoFA 2
• COVID-19 Response
• WASH in Schools
• 3FM Restoring Family Links

I Background

These Terms of Reference specify the External Audit requirements of four projects in Côte d’Ivoire: the three COVID-19 projects, Wash in Schools, and Restoring Family Links.

The Netherlands Red Cross (NLRC) and the Côte d’Ivoire Red Cross (CRCI) have implemented three complementary COVID-19 projects to limit the impact of the virus and reduce the risk of spreading in Côte d’Ivoire. The COVID-19 response aimed to reinforce the intervention capacities of CRCI in prevention and response; to promote behaviour and practices favourable to prevention; and to strengthen the community-based contact monitoring and surveillance system vis-à-vis the disease. The COVID-19 MoFA 2 project supported the CRCI branches in assisting marginalised groups, providing handwashing stations and delivering MHPSS. The Covid 3 project was focused on cash transfers, vaccination training, CEA and vaccine/protective measures awareness.

The main objective of the Restoring Family Links project is to restore as many contacts as possible between migrants and their families. While in some cases the first objective is not accessible, the secondary objective is at least to be able to provide families with clarification about the fate of missing migrants and to provide psychosocial assistance to returned migrants and to families who are victims of family contact breakdowns as a result of migration.

The objective of the WASH in Schools project was to improve the WASH conditions of schools in four intervention health areas in Dimbokro, leveraging on a previous project that focused on pneumonia in these specific locations. Through the 3-star approach and a strong process of behavioural change, the project promoted hygiene and strengthened the water and sanitation infrastructure.

CRCI led the implementation of these four projects in partnership with the NLRC. The project activities implemented by CRCI and the NLRC in Côte d’Ivoire will be verified in accordance with the accountability requirements. The financial statements of both partners are required to be audited.

For the details of the projects expenses please contact: [email protected]

All projects were implemented between 1 January 2020 and 31 December 2021.

II Audit objectives

1. The audits should be carried out in accordance with the International standards on auditing (ISA).
2. The audits should comprise as many observations as are considered necessary under the circumstances.
3. The opinion of the auditor about the underneath mentioned specific objectives of the audits needs to be reflected in the audit reports and are as follows:

• To state an opinion on the financial statements of CRCI and NLRC, in particular whether it gives a true and fair view of revenue and expenditure in accordance with the conditions laid down in the decision and with generally accepted accounting principles.
• To evaluate the recipient’s internal control system of CRCI and NLRC, estimate the audit risk and identify any matters worth mentioning, including any material weaknesses in internal control.
• To make observations in order to determine whether the recipients have complied with all material aspects of the conditions laid down in the MoU. All material matters not meeting the aforementioned conditions and all indications of illegal acts have to be identified. Such observations shall also include the requirements relating to any contribution to be made by the grant recipient.
• Check whether the reported activities and reported expenditures comply with the signed MoU (including budget) and approved budget revisions.
• The auditor should check if the total amounts of the income received and expenditures incurred registered in the CRCI accounting system are corresponding to the NLRC field accounting package Winpaccs. Any differences have to be specified and reported.
• Check whether all eligible costs are charged to and paid within the eligible period.
• Check whether assets (buildings, stock or land) have been bought and charged to this project.
• Check whether reserves have been made with money of this project. Only a reserve for severance (termination benefits, only in case of national law) is allowed.
• Check whether the organisations comply with the following conditions: a) The applicable rules, regulations and laws were applied to the reported amounts; b) The quality of the process of internal control, validation of the expenditures, contracting and monitoring were performed well;
• Evaluate whether the administration gives a good and complete understanding of: a) The amounts received from NLRC HQ; b) Return payments to NLRC HQ; c) The amounts justified by CRCI and NLRC Country Delegation.

III Scope of the audits

1. Drafting the audit plan

The auditor should draw up an audit plan for each of the projects which should include an examination of the design and operation of the internal control system, analytical procedures and substantive tests.

The auditor is expected to complete the majority of the audit in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire and visit project locations in Côte d’Ivoire.

1. Implementation

2.1 The auditor should audit the financial statement on the basis of the audit plan in order to issue an auditor’s report.

2.2 The auditor should request a letter of representation from the grant recipient’s management stating that, to the best of its knowledge, the financial statement encompasses all transactions and is accurate and complete in all respects.

2.3 The auditor should ensure that the audit working papers contain sufficient documents of an appropriate and relevant nature and should document the audit procedures used and the results obtained in the working papers.

2.4The auditor should check that the contracts concluded between the grant recipients and other organisations involved in the activities referred to in the decision have been audited.

The steps listed in III. 1, and 2 are not exhaustive or restrictive and may not impose any limitations on the auditor’s professional judgement. Any restrictions on the scope of the audit should be mentioned in the auditor’s report.

1. Reporting

The long-form report should include the following elements:

3.1 The aim and scope of the financial audits, the audit criteria applied, where relevant, and any restrictions imposed on the scope of the audit.

3.2 The financial statement with disclosures and the accounting principles applied.

3.3 Clear statement of the auditor’s opinion of the financial statement.

3.4 For the financial section a report per applicable currency is required.

3.5 The financial section should include a budget vs. actual expenditure table.

3.6 A table of received transfers and exchanged amounts will be checked and confirmed by the auditor.

3.7 The following text needs to be incorporated in the auditor’s report:
“We conducted our audit in accordance with the International standards on auditing (ISA). Those standards require that we plan and perform our audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statement is free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.”

IV Review

The NLRC HQ reserves the right to review the audit findings. The auditor concerned should assist this review and should supply the reviewer with all relevant documents relating to the audit.

V Audit working papers

The audit firm must keep orderly and accessible working papers. These should be kept for a period of ten years from the date of completion of the audit.

VI Conditions of implementation

1. The auditor will follow the financial guidelines of CRCI and NLRC Field Financial Manual, however the auditor is expected to specifically consider and evaluate that:

• No reserves can be charged to the funding;

• Any investments charged to the funding;

• Report on any other revenue such as interest;

• Costs are eligible when charged and paid in the period from:

  31/03/2018 – 28/02/2021 (3FM Restoring Family Links),
  01/01/2020 – 30/04/2021 (WASH in Schools),
  01/05/2020 – 31/03/2021 (COVID-19 Response),
  01/10/2020 – 31/12/2021 (COVID-19 MoFA 2), and
  01/07/2021 – 30/04/2022 (Covid 3).
  Liabilities are not eligible after these periods.

• The total of the reviewed expenses will be at least 85% of the total reported expenditures and within this 85% must be all transactions (100%) that have a value above € 500 or 327.500 XOF.

VII Deliverables:

1. Upon completion of the audit work, the Auditors will submit six (6) original hard copies (three in French and three in English) and two (2) soft copies (one in French and one in English) of the Audit Report appended to the Financial Statements along with the reports to the attention of the CRCI and the NLRC. The report must be drafted in both French and English.
2. Management letter in accordance with the scope of work described here before.

VIII Responsibilities and lines of communication:

The Auditor will be contracted and managed by the Netherlands Red Cross (NLRC) in the Netherlands. The NLRC Finance and Administration Officer and the NLRC Roving Finance Delegate will be the focal points and will coordinate the process in close collaboration with the CRCI Accounting /Finance team and the NLRC Finance team at the Headquarters.

IX Qualification of the Audit Firm:

• Preference will be given to auditors based in the West Africa region, with international affiliation.
• Both French and English language skills are essential for the completion of this assignment.

X Procurement procedure

Bidders are requested to submit both a financial proposal and technical proposal that best complies with the text laid out in this document. These proposals will be assessed separately and the contract awarded to the candidate with the highest combined score. The proposals are assessed on their compliance, quality and price. The contract will in principle be awarded to the organization with the economically most advantageous quotation. This means that not only the price, but all award criteria will be taken into consideration.

Your bid should make clear about the relevant skills, experience and capacity of the participant, in respect of these particular Terms of Reference (TOR). Your bid must contain the details of the proposed approach to be adopted in order to deliver the service in accordance with the TOR.

A. Administrative compliance

To be shortlisted and evaluated through the selection criteria (see section B.) your bids should include the following items (without one of these you will not be eligible for selection):

• Registration at the relevant Chamber of Commerce and / or document attesting bidder’s registration for the self-employed (according to the status: receipt for filing a declaration with the CFE, Extract RSEIRL, Extract K or K-bis) – Vat registration or Fiscal number
• CV of proposed staff for similar assignment proving relevant experience.
• Technical offer/ approach paper: including a time planning based on this TOR.
• Financial offer: presenting a total price with a cost breakdown in days or hours spent, the related fees and VAT element as well as proposed payment schedule.
• Two (2) relevant references and/ or assignments previously performed by the Bidder that are comparable in content, time and money.

B. Bid’s Requirements and Selection Criteria

Key assessment criteria

• Experience, Skills and Ability of Service Provider – See profile of the consultant Section 8: Past experience in similar work of this nature; (Team member experience accompanied by brief CVs); Bidder track record; Ability of the bidder to fulfil the NLRC’s requirements
• Audit management : Bidder must allocate a project manager for this project; The proposal should contain a work plan, showing tasks, timelines; Did the bidder give, submit clear proposed audit timelines; Does the project plan cater for risk management associated with the audit
• Technical Approach and Execution Plan: Bids must contain the details of the proposed approach to be adopted in order to deliver the service in accordance with the ToR
• References: Did the bidder submit at least two relevant and contactable clients that were serviced in the past 12months
• Capacity: Bids should clearly indicate whether or not bid participants have the capacity to meet the requirements of the TOR; Familiarity and presence in the region.